Life Enrichment Advancing People (LEAP Inc.) experienced a tragic event on Monday, Sept. 16. An explosion at our newly constructed building that housed administrative offices and a training facility resulted in a fatality and serious injuries. Damage was done to nearby homes and businesses. People on or near the site at the time of the explosion witnessed the immediate devastation – as well as acts of bravery and heroism.
In the immediate aftermath, our community has been generous in unimaginable ways. Offers of help have exceeded one hundred local proposals alone. We have also heard from dozens of providers in Maine and organizations across the country. The support has been extraordinary – from people who understand the importance of our work to those who are just plain thoughtful and generous.
We are also very concerned about the friends, and neighbors who were impacted. They too have been displaced and are seeking shelter and a return to normalcy. We want them to know we care and are willing to do what we can to help.
Our first responders, who put their lives on the line every day, deserve our utmost respect and support. Their community, which is our community, has taken an incredible hit. They need us now, as we need them every day.
While we are deeply mourning, our focus right now has to be, in part, to make certain LEAP’s high standards of quality remain intact in the services we provide, as we rebuild our administrative supports. The well-being of our staff is also of utmost importance – many were personally impacted. Payroll had to be completed, and other individual and organizational needs attended to. Remarkably, and thanks to the generosity of our community, less than three days after the incident we have secured a location with enough space to resume business operations almost immediately.
While we wait to find out how an event like this could have happened, and what we can do to make sure it never happens again, I would ask everyone to focus on what is most important – the people directly impacted by this tragic accident. The LEAP family, like everyone else in our community and around the country, is grieving the loss of life and is deeply concerned about those who were injured. We promise to keep the community apprised via the Daily Bulldog as developments unfold and more information becomes available to us.
The United Way of the Tri-Valley area has set up a fund to assist the people I’ve mentioned. There are immediate needs, and longer-term help for some may be necessary as well. If you are looking for a way to help, please visit their website: www.uwtva.org
Let’s not forget: GoFundMe for Larry Lord.